2014-15 LEADING SCORERS
LW Alexander Ovechkin (53 G, 28 A, 81 P)
C Nicklas Backstrom (18 G, 60 A, 78 P)
D John Carlson (12 G, 43 A, 55 P)
LAST SEASON
When you think of the Washington Capitals, you usually think of a playoff team, right? They're usually cosistent making the playoffs each year. Unfortunately, in the 2013-14 NHL season, they failed to qualify. This was a sign for change personnel wise, and after hiring Barry Trotz as head coach, Brian McLellan as GM, and bringing in solid defensemen in Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik, they were ready to rebound.
During the season, the season looked the same for the Caps. Pure goal scorer Alex Ovechkin was at it again, eventually finishing the season with 53 goals, and his partner in crime in Nicklas Backstrom was right behind him point wise, tallying 60 assists. Rookies Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov were making an impact, and everything was going right. They made two trades at the deadline, acquiring defenseman Tim Gleason from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Jack Hillen and a 4th round pick, and then acquired Curtis Glencross from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2nd round pick and a 3rd round pick.
Entering the playoffs, they first matched up against the New York Islanders, where they eventually took them down following a game winning goal from Joel Ward in game seven. They then faced the New York Rangers in round two, but were unfortunately defeated in seven games.
OFFSEASON
IN
Tomas Kundratek
Sean Collins
Carter Camper
Justin Williams
T.J Oshie
Chris Bourque
Aaron Ness
Taylor Chorney
Dan Ellis
Paul Carey
Zach Sill
Ryan Stanton
OUT
Patrick Wey
Tim Kennedy
Casey Wellman
Michal Cajkovsky
Brandon Anderson
Edward Pasquale
Chris Conner
Troy Brouwer
Phoenix Copley
John Erskine
Cameron Schilling
Tim Gleason
Curtis Glencross
Mike Green
Jon Landry
Eric Fehr
Kris Newbury
Joel Ward
Aaron Volpatti
Steve Oleksy
The Caps came into the offseason at the 2015 NHL Draft, where they used their first round pick at 22nd overall to select top ranked goaltender Ilya Samsonov out of the MHL. The Capitals lost a lot of their team in free agency, including saying goodbye to Joel Ward, Eric Fehr, Mike Green, and Troy Brouwer among others, but quickly replaced them with clutch playoff performer Justin Williams and shootout master T.J Oshie. They also brought in some depth, signing Zach Sill and Ryan Stanton to short term deals. Aside from that, there wasn't much else to be said this offseason for the Caps.
NEXT SEASON PT 1. OFFENSE
Most of the Caps' lineup changes came on the offense this year, so the biggest storyline will be whether or not T.J Oshie and Justin Williams can replace what Troy Brouwer, Eric Fehr, and Joel Ward brought to the team. Look for the majority of the Caps' offense to be led by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Andre Burakovsky and Evgeni Kuznetsov will look to step it up as sophomores, while Stanislav Galiev and Jakub Vrana will both push for roster spots.
NEXT SEASON PT 2. DEFENSE
The Caps' defense looks relatively the same, despite the bottom pairing. They did lose mainstay Mike Green to the Detroit Red Wings as well as Tim Gleason, who is currently a free agent, so expect the leaders in the battle for the last two spots to be Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov.
NEXT SEASON PT 3. GOALTENDING
After signing Braden Holtby to a fresh new contract, he will look to live up to his money by getting most of the calls between the pipes, with the most likely backup being Justin Peters or Philipp Grubauer, with Dan Ellis serving as their 4th string.
POSSIBLE 2015-16 OPENING NIGHT LINEUP
Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J Oshie
Marcus Johansson - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Justin Williams
Andre Burakovsky - Jay Beagle - Brooks Laich
Stanislav Galiev - Michael Latta - Tom Wilson
Brooks Orpik - John Carlson
Karl Alzner - Matt Niskanen
Dmitry Orlov - Nate Schmidt
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
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